Got a call from a storm shelter company to fix some leaks in two of their shelters. This is the first storm shelter.




Did a little grinding to remove the paint. It had two corners leaking.



This job was perfect for the Power Arc 140st. This is what I would call a bread and butter job for this welder. The storm shelter is made out of 11 gauge steel, and it's about 8 feet under ground.






This side gave me fits! The reason for the leaks is the guy never properly filled in the dirt on top of the shelter. I made 3-4 passes until it quit leaking. I have never welded on anything that was leaking while I was actually welding. Not sure what the proper fix would be.


This side was much better but I burned through at the top. Had to do some fill in work at the top.


The outside had some type of rubber coating. This company has had good luck with these shelters not leaking. We have had a ton of rain this year, and when they are properly filled in with dirt they do not leak. I'll be honest, I think this was a bandaid or temporary fix. This thing was mig welded and several welds had pin holes. I did exactly what was asked of me, but if it was mine I would of dug it out and re coated the outside after it was welded. I told the guy to run a bead of silicon over all the welds (the entire shelter) to help with any future leaking.